Two Women Start Petition To Make Road in Halifax County Safer

Halifax Co., VA -- Two Halifax County women hope a petition they're circulating, will help save lives. Since 2011, V-DOT has received reports of two fatalities and two other accidents on a small stretch of Buckshoal Road. One of those was a 17 year old boy who died in a crash last month.

It's been a month since we sat down with CJ Phillips' mother Sandra about the sudden loss of her 17-year-old son.

"You're crazy if you don't hug them, love them, do everything you can for them, because it might be the last day you ever see them," says Phillips.

But to this day, the community certainly hasn't forgotten about him. According to V-DOT, Phillips became the second fatality in less than four years on Buckshoal Road. Now, Joyce Howerton and Jere Anderson want to make sure that number doesn't get any higher.

"All highways can be unsafe if driven improperly but that one is not safe under the best of circumstances," says Anderson.

They say between the drastic curves and narrow lanes, the road feels more like a death trap.

"We will not stop until something does get done," says Howerton.

The pair created a petition and expect to get hundreds of signatures. They have specific requests for V-DOT.

"We don't want them to just put a little bit of gravel down or cut a few trees, we want the road to be actually widened and fixed where people can drive safely," says Howerton.

A V-DOT spokesperson told us today they are looking at speed limits and cost estimates for road improvements. But they say their reviews have indicated that the road did not contribute to CJ's accident.

The two women plan to have the petition scattered around Halifax County for people to sign. And they tell me once they have enough signatures, they will present it to the Board of Supervisors to hopefully get to V-DOT.